3 Before 9: March 18, 2026

Just 3 per cent of companies have extensively integrated physical AI into their operations, according to Deloitte's latest State of AI in the Enterprise report, based on a survey of 3,235 business leaders across 24 countries. But that number is about to shift sharply. Some 41 per cent of respondents expect physical AI to transform their industries within three years, with 18 per cent anticipating extensive integration within two. Manufacturing, logistics and warehousing are leading adoption, with robotics-heavy sectors positioned to move first. Chris Lewin, Deloitte's Asia-Pacific AI leader, framed the shift as a change in roles rather than an elimination of jobs, with human workers moving toward supervision and system design.

Micron Technology completed its acquisition of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's P5 site in Tongluo, Miaoli County, Taiwan on 15 March. The $1.8 billion deal gives Micron roughly 300,000 square feet of existing 300mm cleanroom space, which will be converted to produce leading-edge DRAM and high-bandwidth memory for AI workloads. Micron plans to begin construction on a second facility of comparable scale at the same site by the end of fiscal 2026. The company reports fiscal Q2 2026 earnings today, with analysts expecting revenue of $19.2 billion, a 138 per cent year-on-year surge driven by insatiable AI data centre demand for HBM chips.

Alibaba's DAMO Academy has published research in Nature Communications on MAOSS, an AI model that uses routine non-contrast CT scans and serum biomarkers to detect and grade fatty liver disease. Steatotic liver disease affects an estimated 30 per cent of the global population and is notoriously difficult to catch early through conventional screening. MAOSS automatically extracts subtle features from liver texture, density and morphology, turning standard scans into diagnostic tools without requiring specialist imaging. The model was developed in collaboration with Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University and Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, and forms part of DAMO Academy's broader medical AI programme that has screened over 50 million people across ten countries.